Entrance to Children's Fairyland theme park under a colorful archway, vibrant on a clear day, Oakland, California, October 15, 2023. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. - An iconic theme park in Oakland, credited for helping Walt Disney imagine and create Disneyland, is celebrating 75 years.
On Monday, Children's Fairyland is having a party to celebrate its milestone anniversary.
"This isn’t just a birthday party, it’s our love letter to the generations of families that have supported Children’s Fairyland," said park CEO Kymberly Miller.
The mid-century, 10-acre park is located on Bellevue Avenue, on the shore of Lake Merritt.
With its whimsical setting, vast space for imaginative play, kiddie rides, Alice in Wonderland maze, and multiple theater stages, the park boasts as being the country’s first-ever storybook theme park.
The backstory:
"The idea for creating a storybook theme park in Oakland began in 1948, when local nursery owner Arthur Navlet envisioned a place where children could play freely and safely through a world built just for them," the park shared in a news release.
Two years later, on Sept. 2, 1950, that idea became a reality, opening its doors and offering children a place for interactive and imaginative play.
"Fairyland quickly became a cherished part of Oakland’s identity and cultural landscape, igniting imaginations, shaping childhoods, and inspiring countless theme parks around the world," the park said.
The park has remained a family-friendly fixture in the city.
Famous supporters
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Fairyland, like so many other businesses, struggled to remain open, it got the help of two well-known filmmakers from Oakland, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal.
The pair, behind the critically acclaimed 2018 film "Blindspotting," used their star power to help raise money for the storied park, hosting a virtual story time.
"When we heard that they were struggling and even the slightest chance that it could not be around, that could not stand," Diggs said in 2020. "I attribute a lot of my capacity for imagination to time spent at Fairyland, playing on the pirate ship, or the dragon, or the shoe."
Casal hearkened back to his early memories of Fairyland.
"You see the shoe, you see the whale, you see the key, and you're immediately transported back to a particular kind of joy and wonder and awe of your childhood," Casal reminisced.
Inspiring Walt Disney
Fairyland played an integral role in the creation of one of the world’s most famous theme parks.
In 1954, Walt Disney visited the Oakland park during the Disneyland planning process. And he left with many takeaways to incorporate into his massive amusement park.
"He was impressed by the child-sized scale, our storybook sets, cleanliness, gardens, and consumed guides," Fairyland Senior Director of Marketing & Communications Morgan Rothenbaum shared with KTVU in an email correspondence.
He was so impressed, his takeaways went beyond ideas and even ended up including some Fairyland staff.
"After his visit, he recruited Fairyland's first director, Doroth Manes, and later hired puppeteer Bob Mills to help develop Disneyland programming," according to Rothenbaum.
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Monday’s anniversary event will be one that celebrates children, families, and the city that the park has called home for three quarters of a century.
What we know:
The festivities will kick off with a parade that will start at the 19th Street BART station at 9:30 a.m. and wind its way to the park’s entrance gates.
The celebration will also include music from Emmy-nominated DJ Lance Rock, who hosted the once-popular Nickelodeon Nick Jr. children’s show "Yo Gabba Gabba!"
The event will feature circus acts and special performances, including the premiere of Fairyland’s first fully bilingual puppet show, "Tío Conejo’s Big Wish," which is based on a Cuban folktale.
There will be wall-to-wall interactive activities for kids. And what kind of big children’s celebration doesn’t include an appearance by a clown? Daisy the Clown will be on hand for a "bubble-filled performance," putting her magic and balloon-twisting skills on display.
The park will also send all children home with a special anniversary goodie bag.
For children aged 1-17, tickets to the event cost about $18, including fees. Adult admission costs about $20.
"Once-in-a-lifetime celebration"
Fairyland said Monday's party will be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
"For 75 years, Fairyland has been a place where kids and families fall in love with storytelling, make cherished memories, and feel safe to play, explore, and connect," Miller said, adding, "This celebration honors our past, reflects on our growth, and opens a new chapter in Fairyland’s story."
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Children's Fairyland pays tribute to Ohlone
The sign marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration between Fairyland and Sogorea Te' Land Trust to introduce Indigenous stories, culture, and practices into the park’s experiences and programming. The sign will remain on display through the new year.